Family, friends mourn Bethel motorcyclist killed in Danbury

Published 11:44 pm, Monday, August 31, 2009

DANBURY -- Jesse Woodward had girlfriends and liked his job, but the thing he enjoyed most was riding his motorcycle.

"He loved to ride," his brother, Rich, said Tuesday. "It was his favorite thing in the world."

The 23-year-old Bethel man was riding his 1999 Yamaha to work Monday morning when an oncoming van made a left turn into his path on Federal Road.

His younger brother never had a chance, Rich Woodward said. Jesse Woodward died at Danbury Hospital several hours after the 8:59 a.m. accident.

"He was wearing a helmet, leather jacket, boots, everything. He had no time to stop," Rich Woodward said.

Woodward, who lived on Granite Drive in Bethel with his brother and their mother, Jackie, was born in San Diego and lived with his family in Darien before moving to Bethel about a year ago.

For the past six months, he'd been working at Harley-Davidson/Buell of Danbury on Federal Road, less than a half-mile from where the accident happened.

"He wasn't with us that long, but he was a good fit," said service manager Bob Carey. "He was a good worker, amiable, and everybody liked him. He never hesitated when somebody asked him to do something."

Carey said another employee passed the accident on his way to work and told the manager about it when he arrived.

Police identified the driver of the van as Scott Rawlings, 48, of Pocono Ridge Road, Brookfield. Woodward was headed south and Rawlings was driving north when the van made a left turn near Mitchell Oil.

No charges have been filed, and the accident remains under investigation, police said.

"He was a free, care-giving guy. He didn't let too much bother him," Rich Woodward said. "And he had friends all over the place."